My Morning Pages Practice

I’ve recently started my 36th volume of Morning Pages so I think it’s a good time to share more with you about my Morning Pages practice and how I make it work for me.

I’ve been writing Morning Pages for over 5 years now and I first blogged about them here.

My Morning Pages Practice pin featuring a photo of a notebook, pen and cup of coffee.

What are Morning Pages?

Morning Pages are a form of journaling suggested by Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way.

This is what Cameron says about them on her website:

“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*– they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page…and then do three more pages tomorrow.”

How I make my Morning Pages practice work for me

  • I use A5 notebooks and aim to write 3 pages each morning before I start my day.
  • I do miss the odd day – especially if I oversleep, have an early appointment or feel unwell.
  • Some days I only write one page and sometimes it’s more than 3 pages. It’s usually 2-3 pages.
  • I used to write whatever came to mind and sometimes still do. But I have also developed something of a structure which I often use to keep the words flowing:
    • I start out writing about how I’m feeling and how I slept.
    • I often give myself a score out of 10 for how I am feeling. Then note down some ideas of what I can do that day to improve my score.
    • Recently I’ve been drawing a card from my Starseed Oracle deck each day. I write down which card I’ve pulled and any thoughts about it.
    • Next I write out my affirmations – I currently have a list of 9.
    • I write about plans for the day, things on my mind and about dreams I’ve had.
  • If I don’t have time to write my pages first thing sometimes I get to them later in the morning. I’ve even written them in the afternoon and evening.
  • It usually takes me around 10-20 minutes depending on how many pages I write, what’s on my mind and if I am interrupted by family members.

Benefits of Morning Pages

  1. My morning pages journals are a great place to vent, express emotion, solve problems, come up with creative ideas and untangle all the random thoughts that get in the way of me getting on with things.
  2. Writing them each day (usually in the morning) gives me that all important time as an introvert to process my thoughts and have time to myself.
  3. They often help me wake up. I am often bleary-eyed as I begin and feel much more awake by the time I am done.
  4. They are a commitment to myself and my self-care. By completing them first thing they often create a momentum for the day to get other things done.
  5. I usually write my morning pages before I pick up my phone or go near a screen. They help me have less screen time. Plus I get my own thoughts out before I am bombarded with the internet and everyone else’s thoughts!

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Have you tried writing morning pages? How did you get on?

I hope my morning pages practice inspires you to give them a go… be sure to let me know how you get on!

My Morning Pages Practice Pin features a desk with stationery items including a journal and pen plus a yellow cup of coffee

Weekly Artist Dates

This year I’ve been getting back into weekly Artist Dates and I wanted to share what they are, why I do them and which ones I’ve tried so far.

If you’ve not heard of Artist Dates or you’re looking for more information about them please read on…

Pin - image of paintbrushes in a jar with text Weekly Artist Dates - what are they? And why do I do them?

What is an Artist’s Date?

The idea of an Artist Date is from a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist’s Way. I worked through the book in early 2017 and really enjoyed the process. I blogged about the book here. I’m also a huge fan of Morning Pages which is another tool that Cameron recommends in The Artist’s Way.

Here’s what Julia Cameron has to say about Artist Dates:

“The Artist Date is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic” —think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. Since art is about the play of ideas, they feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. When choosing an Artist Date, it is good to ask yourself, “what sounds fun?” — and then allow yourself to try it.”

Why am I making weekly artist dates a priority?

I have set myself 3 intentions this year – they are Wellbeing, Creativity and Joy. When I was thinking about how I can bring more of each of those things into my life I realised that Artist Dates can often tick two of the boxes! (Creativity and Joy).

And combined with my word for 2021 which is Curiosity it feels like Artist Dates are the right thing to do.

I talk a lot about Joy and use my creativity here for Find the Good Everyday. I do that because I want to… but I also want to make sure that I’m making time for joy and creativity outside of any commitments I have. It’s important to refill the creative well and to have some fun in our lives!

How I’ve been getting back into weekly Artist Dates

It requires a commitment – I need to make sure I plan it into my week and actually do it! It’s so easy to cast it aside when urgent and important things come up. But I really want to give myself this time to play and discover and create on a weekly basis so I’ve set aside time to do so.

I’ve marked out time on Friday’s for Artist Dates. This is changeable but if I haven’t done an artist’s date by the time I get to Friday – I am committing to doing it then.

I want to get into the habit of thinking of a couple of options each week and then choosing the one that sounds most interesting or fits best with the time and resources I have available that week.

So far, for my weekly artist date, I’ve:

1 Taught myself cross-stitch with a teeny rainbow kit
2 Watched It’s a Sin
3 Had a brainstorm about Spring and creativity and all the things I wanted to do
4 Created a Spring-time journal
5 Had a rummage in Poundland (went in for some essentials but had a look at the arts and crafts aisle while I was there!)
6 Played with felt pens and cling film to create watercolour backgrounds (which I’m hoping to turn into bookmarks!)
7 Purchased and put up some rainbow watercolour dot decals in our hallway
8 Worked on my Spring Journal – capturing the things I love most about the season

I think it’s important to keep coming back to the Julia Cameron quote above to make sure it’s about fun, mischief and whimsy rather than a chore!

When I get stuck for ideas I’ll be referring back to the ideas I’ve already shared here on the blog. If you’re looking for some fun and creative ideas check out these posts:

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Had you heard of Artist Dates before? Is it something you’ve tried or you’re keen to try?

Pin image - colourful illustration of a light bulb with text - What is an Artist Date & Why do it?

Creating Helpful Habits

Today I want to talk about creating helpful habits. This is something that’s been on my mind for a while.

For many of us, our habits have changed a lot over the past year. A lot of us have been spending more time at home than usual and our routines have been turned upside down and inside out! As we begin to emerge from lockdown life it’s a great opportunity to be mindful about our habits and which new ones we want to create.

In my recent Find the Good Everyday newsletter (I send them monthly – you can sign up here) I chatted about deciding which way we want to ease back into non lockdown life…

Creating Healthy Habits quote by Katie at Find the Good Everyday which reads “We have the opportunity to emerge from the crazy year we’ve just had and be purposeful in our steps going forward. Let’s not just slide or fall back into life as it was before. Let’s decide how we want our lives to look and start taking the steps towards that. And let’s enjoy those steps as we take them.”

So I thought I’d round up some posts I’ve already written about building habits and share some tips and ideas for creating your own helpful habits.

Tips for Creating Helpful Habits

I think a good place to start is to decide what helpful habits you want to develop (or revisit) and then work out how to fit them into your days.

A good way to do this is to think about the things you want to start doing, stop doing and continue doing. Have a look at this post from a few years ago where I worked through these prompts. Come up with your own version of each list to work out where to start.

You could also come up with a list of habits you don’t want to return to and come up with ideas that you can replace them with. And then what habits you had in place before lockdown that you want to return to.

I shared some tips for building and sticking with new habits in this post. Have a look at the infographic below to see what strategies might work to help you with your helpful habits.

Building daily habits infographic sharing tips

And then make a plan – know which habits you want to work on, decide on a plan of action for them and find a way to keep yourself accountable.

Remember to start small – don’t try and change too many things at once. Pick 1 – 3 things to work on at a time. And once you’ve got those working start adding others.

Books that can Help with Creating Helpful Habits

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I’d love to know if you have any tips for creating helpful habits? And please do let me know if you try any of the suggestions or books above and how you get on with them.

Best wishes for building helpful habits that make your life happier!

Creating Helpful Habits pin image features a beach with writing drawn in the sand. An arrow points right to Old Habits and another arrow points left to New Habits.

A Day in my Life March 2021

Come and take a peek into a day in my life March 2021. Last Tuesday I joined in with Ali Edwards’ A Day in the Life project and recorded life right now.

This isn’t the first time I’ve taken part in this project. You can see a day in the life from March 2020 here and one from February 2019 here.

Why do I do this?

I love documenting life. I love taking photos and making notes about how life looks on a day-to-day basis. Because one day I will look around me and life won’t look anything like it does now.

I am so grateful for the journals, scrapbooks, blog posts, photo books I have that give me an insight into what my everyday was like at those times of my life. I love the nostalgia and the memories that come up.

And in taking the time to document with photos and notes I find myself being more mindful as I go about my day. It helps me realise what stays the same, what changes, where improvements can be made and where I’ve been taking things for granted.

If you’ve never done anything like this I would recommend giving it a go.

A Day in my Life March 2021

A day in the life March 2021

Theme for the Day – Getting back to routine

Weather – Sunny. Low of 4 / High of 11

Wake up Time – 7am – much earlier than usual as the kiddo is back at school this week for the first time in 2021 (we’ve been home learning since January)

DITL March 2021 - Food

Breakfast – Burnt Scotch Pancakes with flora and jam and an apple. Is it time for a new toaster?

Lunch – Toasties in the new toastie/waffle/panini press with crisps and crudities. My toastie filling was cheese and pineapple which generated some interest on Instagram when I shared it!

Dinner – Pitta pizzas with tomato paste, oregano, a lot of garlic, ham, pineapple, cheese. Easy and simple dinner.

DITL March 2021 - Pen and Paper
What I did
  • Grab my phone earlier than usual to start snapping photos and do a day in the life (DITL) intro on Instagram stories.
  • Write my morning pages.
  • Cuddles with my boys then get ready for the day ahead.
  • Let the dog out, feed everyone breakfast and load up in the car to school.
  • Say goodbye to the kiddo and take the dog for a walk – feels good to be walking a familiar route from last Autumn and noticing the signs of Spring popping up everywhere (so many daffodils).
  • Head home and spend time faffing…it always takes me a while to switch from one routine to another. I need to remind myself of my cues to sit down and start work. Grateful that I spent the last few weeks working on my intentions for the year and working out what actions I wanted to take to get there. But still need to remind myself to sit down and DO the work.
  • Do some reading and journaling for 2 courses I am currently working on, sort out some payments, send some emails and do some posts/updates in groups I am in
  • Grab the reusable bags and head out for the tescos click and collect. We’ve been doing our weekly shop online and collecting it since Summer last year. Occasionally pop into a shop for a top-up of fruit, vegetables, bread and milk but try to avoid shops where possible.
  • Home to unpack the shopping and try out our new toastie maker for lunch.
  • Chat with the husband while we eat.
  • Join an accountability session with fellow freelancers. Set out to get my FTGE inbox tamed. Get my unread messages from 126 down to 15. Super pleased with that. Plus archive and sort lots of read mail and even unsubscribe from a few things that are no longer relevant.
  • Check back in with the accountability session to report on progress and cheer everyone else on.
  • Carry on sorting out my emails and actioning some things that have been on the back burner during home learning.
  • Update IG stories with what I’ve been up to.
  • Leave for the school pick up, stop at the park on the way home for some exercise in the sunshine for the kiddo.
  • Home to supply snacks and pop on Animal Crossing to do some daily jobs for 15 mins before the kiddo plays online with friends.
  • More faffing – the return to school means a lot of adjustments for me as well as the kiddo – hope to use this time between school pick up and dinner for jobs around the house and finishing anything on my to do list for the day.
  • Husband takes dog for his evening walk pre-dinner as he has a run planned for after dinner
  • I make dinner and tidy the kitchen while watching some YouTube.
  • We sit down for dinner – we usually watch TV while we eat and the current favourite is Richard Osman’s House of Games.
  • Hubby leaves for his running session, doggo is unsettled with all the routine changes and has a cry.
  • I start reading my book, the kiddo plays some Animal Crossing.
  • Time for vitamins (so grateful we linked taking vitamins with the kiddo going to bed – he pulls the tub out and reminds me to take mine!) and then up to bed.
  • Show the kiddo all my DITL photos and read a chapter of our current family read (Simply the Quest by Maz Evans – it’s part of a series which features lots of mythological gods and creatures – it’s funny and great to read together).
  • Kiddo gets tucked in and reads his own book (an Artemis Fowl – he’s working his way through a series of 8). It makes me so happy that he loves reading.
  • Decide to put my pyjamas on early.
  • Hubby has an 830pm work call.
  • I update IG stories and scroll for a while then get back into my book.
  • At 10pm I sign off from my DITL on IG stories, I write in my gratitude and sentence a day journals and get ready for bed.
  • Can’t get to sleep so end up reading until past midnight.
DITL March 2021 - Doggo
I am grateful for –

1) My pre-order of The Devil Wears Black by LJ Shen arrived and I’ve started reading it

2) Another good day at school for the kiddo

3) Life feels good today

I am proud of –

(I’ve been writing 3 things I am proud of each day in my gratitude journal since November last year – it’s part of the mindset work I’ve been doing and I recommend giving it a go to celebrate all the wins – big and small!)

1) Documenting a day in my life March 2021 via IG stories

2) Getting my FTGE inbox sorted out

3) Doing the work – lots of mindset stuff this week

No. of steps – 6,629

Today’s Self Nurturing Activity – Reading!

Currently Reading – The Devil Wears Black by LJ Shen

Bedtime – Read in bed from about 8.50pm ish. At 10pm I signed off on IG stories, wrote in my journals and plugged my phone in the office. Tried to get to sleep and couldn’t. Ended up reading until around 12.40am.

And that was a Day in my Life March 2021!

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So what do I do with all this stuff I document? I shared snippets from the day via IG stories live on the day. I’m creating this blog post (which is great for comparing previous days as I tend to use a similar format each time). And I’ve also created and ordered a photo book with photos from the day and simple captions to put on our photo album shelf.

And that’s it until next time. I may take part in Week in the Life which usually happens around May time. I will see if I feel motivated nearer the time.

You can, of course, pick any day or week to document and get stuck in but I find it helpful to play along on the days that Ali Edwards suggests as there is a community of people that join in and I find that encouraging.

Let me know if you have a go at documenting a day in your life and how you get on.

Daily Journalling for Happiness – three ways

Today I want to share three types of daily journalling for happiness. I currently journal in these three ways every day. Together they help me feel happier, be positive, take care of myself and keep my life together.

So “what are they?” I hear you ask…

Three Types of Daily Journalling for Happiness - pin image

Three Types of Daily Journalling for Happiness

  • Morning Pages
  • Bullet Journalling
  • Gratitude Diary

I’ve written about each of these daily journalling methods before and they all work well as separate activities. But I find when I use all of them they work together to make me feel organised, creative and happy!

So let’s go into a little more detail about each one…

Morning Pages

Morning Pages are a concept from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The idea is to write 3 pages of long-hand stream of conscious journalling as soon as you wake up. This gets all the crap out of your head and frees up space for creativity and inspiration.

I’ve been writing morning pages since late 2015 and they have been so beneficial to me. I’ve written more about Morning Pages and how they are a self-care tool for me here.

I was also recently a guest over at Stationery Magpie sharing why Morning Pages are so important to me as well as a few tips for getting started.

Bullet Journalling

I don’t want to brag but I was doing my own version of Bullet Journalling back before it was cool! You can read my Bullet Journal Story here.

My Bullet Journal is my planner – it’s how I know what I’m supposed to be doing and where I’m supposed to be at any given time. It’s functional and not particularly pretty compared to some of the examples all over the internet. But it works. I am continually adapting it to suit my lifestyle and my needs. It is the glue that holds my life together.

Last year I shared a Bullet Journal set-up and I often share little snippets on my IG account too.

Gratitude Journal

I’ve kept a gratitude journal on and off for many years. Most recently I’ve been keeping one for the last few years consistently.

At the end of each day, before I go to sleep, I think back over the day and come up with (usually) 5 things that I feel gratitude for. The topics and their levels of seriousness (or fluffiness!) can vary greatly. This feels so good…and after a particularly bad day I see it as a personal achievement to find something that I am grateful for. I think that identifying and documenting my gratitude every single day makes me a more positive person.

Click here to read more about the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal as well as tips to start your own.

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So there you go – three types of daily journalling for happiness. Together they can make your life happier and keep you on the right track.

I’d love to know if you use any of these methods? Or if you have a different type of journalling that you do every day?

And if not – why not pick the one that intrigues you the most and give it a go?

Find Your Happy
Find Your Happy Journalling Workbook

If you’re looking for more journalling ideas for happiness please take a look at my Find Your Happy Journalling workbook. It contains twenty one journalling prompts to help you get more happy in your everyday life. And each prompt is designed to take only 10 minutes.

I do these 3 types of journalling every day and it makes me happier - pin image

Week in the Life: Sunday 17th May

We’ve reached the final day! It’s time to share snippets from a Week in the Life: Sunday.

You can see stories and photos from the rest of the week here:
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday

Week in the Life: Sunday 17th May

Theme for the Day – The slowest, laziest one yet!

Weather – Sunny – High of 21 – Low of 8

Wake up – Around 8am (my note-taking with details has slowed as the week has gone on!)

Breakfast – Cereal (some kind of multigrain thing, not coco pops – boo!) with milk, apple and pear

Lunch – A variation on yesterday’s picnic plate using up things we had in the fridge. The husband put it all together

Dinner – we ended up ordering in pizza – naughty but nice!

Snacks – Some of yesterday’s Rice Krispie Marshmallow squares

Week in the Life: Sunday - a doggo and his toys
What happened – Morning
  • I think it’s fair to say I’ve been throughly enjoying the slow starts lately and today was no different
  • The boys had had a bit of a tidy up before I got downstairs so I continued on after breakfast
  • Took down the Union Jack bunting from VE Day and put up some floral bunting my Mum gave me instead for a nice summery feel
  • Sorted out a basket for Reggie’s toys and he proceeded to get them all out and play with them!
  • Hubby headed off for a 10 mile run in lieu of the 10 mile race he’d been signed up for today (cancelled due to lockdown)
  • The kiddo and I dug out an old bingo set and had a practice before the weekly family zoom (where bingo was planned!)
What happened – Afternoon/Evening
  • We had lunch when hubby got home
  • He put up our new washing line – the old one snapped a couple of weeks ago and it’s been a pain drying things without the line (we have drying racks too but they aren’t that great on windy days!)
  • I grabbed a shower after lunch
  • We had the family zoom call and played some normal bingo and animal bingo (new to us and hilarious!)
  • Ended up ordering in pizza for dinner as we were feeling lazy
  • We took a walk round the big block after dinner
  • Whilst I was tidying the kitchen and the boys were upstairs the doggo destroyed one of his balls so there was quite a mess to clear up!
  • I sorted out some photos and video snippets
  • Watched a bit more Normal People – can’t decide if I like it or not – I’ve got to the point where I think I need to carry on to see what happens
  • Headed upstairs to bed
Week in the Life: Sunday - seen on our walk
I am grateful for –
  1. Watching the dog play with his toys – he seems like a puppy at times
  2. We finally cleared off all the clutter that had accumulated on one of our chairs – yay for space to spread out again
  3. An evening walk with my loves

No. of steps – 4,758

Bedtime – Just about 10pm I think

Notes & Observations about the WITL project –
  • I definitely ran out of steam today. I forgot to photograph breakfast and lunch!
  • But still managed to capture our slow, lazy Sunday
  • Feeling pleased that I managed to document the whole week
  • Now to order the prints and get the scrapbook complete – I think I’ll set myself a deadline of the end of May to call it done (as long as the prints arrive in time!)

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And that was the final day of our Week in the Life: Sunday.

If you haven’t already don’t forget to check out the rest of the posts:

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday

I have completed previous Week in the Life and Day in the Life projects. You can see all of the posts like this here.

Don’t forget to visit me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Week in the Life: Saturday 16th May

It’s the weekend and time for sharing Week in the Life: Saturday. We are in the final stretch now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into a week of our life!

You can see stories and photos from the rest of the week here:
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday

Week in the Life: Saturday 16th May

Theme for the Day – Family Day

Weather – Partly Cloudy – High of 16 – Low of 5

Wake up – 6.30am to let the dog out then 10am! (That’s late even for me!)

Week in the Life: Saturday - food photos

Breakfast – Home baked Pain au Chocolate (from a tin) with apple, strawberry and blueberries

Lunch – The usual picnic plate. Today withy mini scotch eggs, chicken tender things, ham, cheese, veggies and pickles

Dinner – Burger with cheese, gherkin and burger sauce in brioche bun with a massive salad – it was delicious!

Snacks – We had a go at making Rice Krispie Marshmallow squares and tried them

What happened – Morning
  • Heard the dog clatter down the stairs at 6.30am so followed him down to let him out
  • Went back to bed and the next thing I knew it was 10am!
  • Hubby won many points for bringing me breakfast in bed! The kiddo and doggo came up for a chat too!
  • I worked on some Secret Squirrel plans for a certain someone’s upcoming birthday
  • And edited Friday’s video snippets for my IG stories
  • Came downstairs to find the boys playing Minecraft. I got a tour of their pier complete with roller-coaster, amusement arcades, bar and food stalls! My favourite part was the rainbow floor in the amusement arcade!
  • Got Friday’s blog post finished and published
  • Put together a playlist for a potential guest quiz round
  • Had a later lunch – around 1.45pm after the late start
Week in the Life: Saturday Screens
What happened – Afternoon/Evening
  • Had a go at making Rice Krispie Marshmallow Squares – the marshmallow took a while to melt
  • Headed out for an hour-long family walk – heading up to see the swans again and then beyond
  • Home to try the marshmallow squares – not as good as Mars Bar Slice but a nice treat
  • I prepped dinner while hubby tackled the washing up
  • After dinner the kiddo brought out his electronic kit and the boys had a play with that and then a board game
  • I watched the latest episode of the Sewing Bee and marvelled at the sewing skills
  • Listened to hubby read some Terry Pratchett to the kiddo
  • Organised photos for this project
  • Had a go at the Normal People series that seems to be doing the rounds – watched 2 and a bit episodes
  • Took the dog out about 10.05pm and it took him until almost 10.30pm to finish his business! Luckily my phone had a tiny bit of charge left so I read a Kindle book outside while I waited!
  • Headed up to bed
Week in the Life: Saturday - photos from outside
I am grateful for –
  1. A long family walk in the afternoon
  2. Lazy, chilled weekend days
  3. Burgers for dinner – a family favourite

No. of steps – 7,240

Bedtime – About 10.50pm I think

Notes & Observations about the WITL project –
  • I’m taking less photos each day but that’s okay. I still feel like I’m capturing the flavour of life right now
  • Eager to get the project finished and have a scrapbook completed!

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Week in the Life: Saturday – DONE! Only one more day to go…

I have completed previous Week in the Life and Day in the Life projects. You can see more posts like this here.

Don’t forget to visit me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Week in the Life: Friday 15th May

Wow – it’s already time for a Week in the Life: Friday edition. This week seems to have gone by fast!

You can see stories and photos from the rest of the week here:
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday

Week in the Life: Friday 15th May

Theme for the Day – Friday Fun & Frolics!

Weather – Sunny – High of 17 – Low of 5

Wake up – 8.30am

Breakfast – Coco Pops, strawberries & an apple

Lunch – Fish finger roll with homemade aioli, gherkin and lettuce plus cucumber sticks and some tortilla chips on the side

Dinner – Quiche, baby potatoes and salad

Snacks – rice cake, Pringles for the Quiz

Week in the Life: Morning through to Lunch photos
What happened – Morning
  • Yet another slow start – that seems to be the theme of the week!
  • Downstairs to feed everyone
  • Sorting video clips from Thursday to post on IG
  • Posting Thursday’s blog
  • Starting home learning with a Body Coach workout – we did a 5 minute warm up then a 15 minute workout
  • Hubby took the doggo out while we were exercising
  • Had a go at the Friday Maths Challenge on BBC Bitesize – the final 2 questions required all family members working together!
  • Kiddo declared himself having an off-day early on and it was a struggle to get him to focus – glad that the weekend is close now
  • After some work ran a bath for the kiddo with some Epsom salts and little bath bombs
  • Wrote my morning pages at 12.15pm while the kiddo was in the bath
  • Sorted lunch
Week in the Life: Friday - heading outside
What happened – Afternoon/Evening
  • I printed out the ‘Coronavirus from a Kids Perspective‘ questionnaire and got the kiddo to complete it – this will go in the scrapbook album
  • Got on with chores – washing up and laundry while the kiddo carried on with school work
  • Got dressed in clothes that weren’t pyjamas or active wear and even put some make-up on!
  • Headed to the pharmacy on foot to pick up a prescription. Waited 20 minutes in a queue
  • I used the waiting time to start organising photos to be printed for my WITL scrapbook album
  • Popped to the little supermarket for milk that I couldn’t get at LIDLs and some marshmallows for a recipe we want to try
  • Husband headed off for a run when I got back
  • The doggo, the kiddo and I went for a walk to find the swans – we were not disappointed!
  • Watched, with a decent sized socially-distant crowd, as one baby swan was abandoned in the nest while the others swam away…
  • …and breathed a sigh of relief when the family were re-united
  • Home for dinner
  • Time for one of the favourite parts of our lockdown week – a music quiz with hubby’s running club via Zoom
  • Danced and sang our way through to a respectable score of 149 (no idea what that was out of!)
  • Let the dog out and off to bed
Week in the Life: Friday - looking for swans (we found some ducklings too!)
I am grateful for –
  1. Organising my photos from Monday to Thursday ready to print
  2. Friday Night Music Quiz with hubby’s running club
  3. Seeing the baby swans with the kiddo and the doggo

No. of steps – 9,079 – the quiz dancing definitely helps!

Bedtime – it was nearly 11pm but I couldn’t sleep so read until around midnight

Notes & Observations about the WITL project –
  • It was good to make a start on organising the scrapbook element of this project today.
  • A lovely friend on Instagram reminded me that the Project Life app has a mosaic function to get multiple images on 6 x 4 prints.
  • I will make up mosaics for each day and then order the prints early next week.
  • Over the weekend I am hoping to get some of the stories in the paper album.

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And that was a Week in the Life: Friday edition. On to the weekend…

I have completed previous Week in the Life and Day in the Life projects. You can see more posts like this here.

Don’t forget to visit me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Week in the Life: Thursday 14th May

Welcome to a Week in the Life: Thursday edition. Today I am sharing photos and stories from yesterday.

You can see the rest of the week here:
MondayTuesdayWednesday

Week in the Life: Thursday 14th May

Theme for the Day – Visiting Nanny!

Weather – Partly Cloudy – High of 12 – Low of 1

Wake up – 3am (kiddo had a nosebleed!) then a restless sleep until around 8am

Breakfast – Greek yoghurt, strawberries & pear (yay for fresh fruit!) and the last dollop of Tiptree Salted Caramel spread (whatever will I do tomorrow?!)

Lunch – A roll with ham, cheese and piccalily, cucumber sticks, tortilla chips and a piece of mars slice

Dinner – Lamb shank in mint gravy with kumara (sweet potato), carrot and brocolli

Snacks – Rice Cakes and a sneaky Twirl

Week in the Life: Thursday - a look at our morning jobs
What happened – Morning
  • After writing my morning pages I updated my video clips from yesterday
  • Then downstairs for brekkie and finishing Wednesday’s blog
  • Started school work with Maths
  • Tried a new Joe Wickes workout – the kiddo lasted for most of it and moved onto spellings while I finished
  • Break time – we sorted out laundry – folding up dry stuff and hanging up the dogs blankets that had been washed
  • I took the doggo out for a walk. We saw a dead rat and the swans were back at their nest today with 3 cygnets (yay! When we didn’t see them for a couple of days I was getting worried)
  • Home to see how the kiddo had got on with online work then he looked up a Cookie Jar Alarm as electricity is a current topic
  • I time-lapsed making lunch which was fun
What happened – Afternoon/Evening
  • Hubby came downstairs for lunch. We chatted and I caught up on Formula 1 news (side note – we are both big fans and have missed not watching it this year. There’s been a lot of announcements of team/driver changes happening this week ready for 2021)
  • Kiddo wrote up details of the Cookie Jar Alarm and did some reading while I grabbed a shower
  • A neighbour knocked on the door about arranging to have the windows cleaned. Had a quick chat with her and then the prospective window cleaner (from a distance!)
  • The kiddo and I headed out in the car. This was the first time the kiddo had been in the car since mid May!
Week in the Life: Thursday - visiting Nan!
  • We went to my Mum’s. She’s currently isolating for 12 weeks so we made plans to visit on a decent day so we could chat to her from the garden
  • Felt really emotional that this was the first time my son and mum had seen each other in person since early March!
  • Headed home when the sun went in and it got chilly
  • Worked on this blog post and then dinner while the boys x-boxed (it’s become part of the routine during lockdown – a symbol that the working day is done!)
  • Ate dinner then watched a little bit of Taskmaster then the boys took the dog out
  • I caught up on some What’s App conversations and sent some replies
  • Banged our drum and rang our cowbell for the NHS (this has been happening weekly at 8pm on a Thursday. Quite a few from our street come out and we can hear the neighbouring streets too)
  • Video-called our friends to make a team for the Virtual Pub Quiz
  • Cracked open a Malibu cocktail in a tin (and on a school night! Shocking!)
  • Got a very respectable score of 40/50
  • Time to get everyone to bed
Week in the Life: Thursday - Evening Photos
I am grateful for –
  1. The excitement and delight of my Mum and son seeing each other after 2 months
  2. A fun Joe Wickes workout this morning which gave me lots of energy to get through the day
  3. The Quiz with our friends

No. of steps – 7,901

Bedtime – 9.50pm

Notes & Observations about the WITL project –
  • Note to self – I want to capture some facts and news about the pandemic and lockdown rules to add to the scrapbook
  • Love documenting things like the swans and waiting to see the baby cygnets (which usually happens each year since we’ve lived near the river)

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So that was a peek into my Week in the Life: Thursday. Back with Friday soon!

I have completed previous Week in the Life and Day in the Life projects. You can see more posts like this here.

Don’t forget to visit me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Week in the Life: Wednesday 13th May

It’s time to share some photos and stories from a Week in the Life: Wednesday.

If you haven’t seen Monday you can find that here.
And Tuesday is here.

In this post I’m sharing what happened on Wednesday…

Week in the Life: Wednesday 13th May

Theme for the Day – Taking it Slowly

Weather – Mostly Cloudy – High of 12 – Low of 2

Wake up – Properly at around 8.15am but a few wake up’s due to husband, dog and child before then

Breakfast – Same as yesterday (my breakfasts and lunches tend to stay quite similar) Greek yoghurt, apple slices and a dollop of Tiptree Salted Caramel spread

Lunch – Poached egg, bacon, hash brown and some sourdough toast

Dinner – Fresh pasta, garlic bread and broccolli

Snacks – Mars Bar Slice

Week in the Life: Wednesday - food we ate
What happened – Morning
  • A decent sleep last night – yay! But a slow start. I heard the dog, the husband and the kiddo get up but dozed a little longer
  • The husband’s work day started early with calls starting at 7am
  • Once the first batch of calls were done – the husband headed out for a run
  • I wrote my morning pages then headed downstairs to grab breakfast then tidied the kitchen
  • We got started with school work – maths, spellings and reading plus replying to messages on the school system
  • I managed to get Tuesday’s post finished and published at break time
  • Some more school work – some of which involved the dog stepping all over the times table practice we were doing!
  • Starting to prep lunch so hubby had time to eat between lunchtime calls
Week in the Life: Wednesday - featuring people
What happened – Afternoon/Evening
  • I got dressed after lunch (Yes, I spent all morning in my pyjamas! – a definite benefit of lockdown)
  • Laid on the bed and contemplated life for a while until the dog decided enough was enough
  • I took the dog for a walk – let him lead the way again. It was very windy and there were lots of leaves & branches down along by the river
  • I collated a shopping list as we were running low on fresh foods like fruit, vegetables, bread etc
  • Found out I won a Body Shop voucher in my lovely friends raffle and had a quick look at the catalogue to see what I’d like
  • Finally stopped procrastinating and went to LIDL (local supermarket)
  • Surprised to find NO queue at LIDL – it was reasonably quiet once I was inside
  • Sighed every time someone got too close
  • Managed to pick up nearly everything on the list/that we needed
  • Realised once I got home and we’d put everything away that I’d taken no photos of the whole shopping experience! Oooops!
  • Headed upstairs to chill out & work on this post while the boys played the xbox
  • Time for dinner
  • Then the weekly excitement of putting the bins out! – The boys did it this week and then walked the dog
  • I watched the end of a Call the Midwife I started a few days ago
  • Kiddo went to bed and we watched the final episode of series 1 of Race Across the World – absolutely loved it and would recommend!
  • Let the dog out one last time and then up to bed
I am grateful for –
  1. No queue to get into LIDL
  2. Winning the Body Shop voucher
  3. Being able to take it slowly when I need to

No. of steps – 4,419

Bedtime – 10.15pm

Week in the Life: Wednesday - our dog Reggie
Notes & Observations about the WITL project –
  • 3 days in and I’m reminded why I love this project. As well as being able to document life right now it also provides me with an alternative lens to look at our daily life. I am able to see things that have changed over time.
  • So disappointed to miss out on photos from shopping and capturing the social distancing aspect of life right now but I was focused on getting in and out as efficiently as I could!

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I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my Week in the Life: Wednesday. Tomorrow I’ll be over half way!

I have completed previous Week in the Life and Day in the Life projects. You can see more posts like this here.

Don’t forget to visit me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.